Education Ministry urges WAEC PRO to verify facts before public pronouncements

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The Ministry of Education (MoE) has called on the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to ensure internal verification of facts before making public statements that could mislead or misrepresent the Ministry’s efforts.

This comes after WAEC dismissed claims by the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, that the 2024 WASSCE results would be released by December 29, following the disbursement of GHS 25 million to the Council.

Speaking after a visit to WAEC’s offices on Tuesday, Dr. Adutwum announced that WAEC was finalizing the marking process and assured that results would be ready by December 29.

However, WAEC’s Head of Public Relations, John Kapi, refuted the claim, stating that no additional funds beyond the GHS 25 million received on December 18 had been disbursed, contrary to the Minister’s remarks.

Mr. Kapi noted that, WAEC had requested an additional GHS 35 million from the Ministry to fix broken-down scanners, complete the scanning of objective test answer cards, and process results, but the funds were yet to be received.

In response, the Ministry issued a statement on Thursday, December 26, clarifying that WAEC had formally acknowledged receipt of the GHS 25 million payment in a letter dated December 20, 2024.

The Ministry also stated that it had since released the requested GHS 35 million to facilitate the processing of the WASSCE results.

“It is surprising to note that the WAEC PRO has publicly denied the receipt of the GHS 25 million payment, despite official documentation confirming its acknowledgement,” the Ministry said in its statement.

The Ministry emphasized that public statements by WAEC officials should be grounded in verified information to avoid miscommunication or casting aspersions on the Ministry’s commitments.

The Ministry reiterated that it has disbursed a total of GHS 167,976,815 to WAEC from July 2024 to date, fulfilling its financial obligations for the 2024 WASSCE.

It assured the public that efforts are ongoing to ensure the timely release of the examination results and urged calm as the process concludes.

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